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Senator Jim Oberweis joined a bipartisan group of Senate lawmakers March 26 to pass a bipartisan plan that protects funding for childcare programs, prevents layoffs of court reporters and corrections workers, and solves a $1.6 billion budget deficit.

Senator Oberweis said the budget fix plan, which does not rely on any tax increase or borrowing, is a tough but necessary vote to address the state’s current fiscal mess.

“This budget fix plan is not the ideal solution, but it is an important first step. Some of state government’s finest hours are the result of working together, of pushing and pulling as a team toward a goal,” Senator Oberweis said. “We need to continue down this path and work to make the kinds of fundamental changes that restore our state to its leadership role in the nation. They will not all be easy changes, but they will be necessary changes.”

Passed by the House of Representatives March 24, the budget fix plan now moves to the Governor and will become law with his signature.

The 25th District Senator says funding for areas like child-care, court reporters, and corrections would have had severe funding shortfalls without this legislation. Funding for local governments remains intact, as does funding for developmentally disabled, mental health, and autism programs.

The budget fix plan is included in House Bill 317 and House Bill 318, and details about those bills, including how lawmakers voted on the issue, can be found on the General Assembly’s Web site at http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/votehistory.asp.

Senator Oberweis said it is important to build on the momentum of this bipartisan success to ensure that important structural reforms continue.